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Press release

Minister O’Brien visits Donegal Intercultural Platform – funded under €1m pilot Community Development Programme

  • Minister O’Brien visits Letterkenny, the new Community Development Programme (CDP) office, to launch the pilot Intercultural CDP for Donegal
  • The new county-wide initiative will resource and support the inclusion of Asylum seeker and Refugee families being accommodated in Donegal
  • One of seven organisations funded under €1m pilot Community Development Programme

Today (10th December 2021) Joe O’Brien TD, Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development visited the Donegal Intercultural Platform CDP, one of seven successful organisations taking part in the pilot Community Development Programme.

The €1m pilot programme, a Programme for Government commitment, is aimed at trialling community led interventions that address poverty, social exclusion and inequality, and promote human rights.

Donegal Intercultural Platform CDP has been working with Black and Minority Ethnic Communities including Traveller and Roma Communities in County Donegal using community development principles since its inception in 2009. The project put forward as part of the pilot Community Development Programme will continue this theme by building on their strong track record of promoting interculturalism, human rights, equality and inclusion across the county of Donegal. This will be done by using a community development approach in solidarity with relevant national, local organisations and local community and voluntary structures.

Minister O’Brien said:

“I am delighted to visit Donegal Intercultural Platform pilot CDP today, one of the organisations that have been successful in receiving funding under the Community Development Pilot Programme. The work of Donegal Intercultural Platform underpins that communities themselves are best placed to identify needs and to work collaboratively to develop pathways to fully access their rights. It is hugely important that the voices of the most marginalised people in society are given opportunities to engage, to help develop activities that they know will help enhance their lived experiences and to influence decisions being made that impact them. I hope the work by the Intercultural Platform under this project will benefit the Black and Minority Ethnic communities, and will also serve as a wider example of how community led interventions can address important issues affecting the marginalised in society, such as access to adequate housing. As we emerge from COVID-19 we must focus on supporting those most marginalised in order to ensure that the social recovery is as effective as possible in ensuring that nobody is left behind. The launch of the Donegal Intercultural Pilot is a clear signal from government that we are intent on building a recovery from COVID-19 with the most socially excluded to the fore.”

ENDS

Notes for editors:

  • The seven successful projects under the Community Development Programme were announced on 24 June 2021. A list of the organisations and the themes of the projects are as follows:
Organisation Name Location Themes
Donegal Intercultural Platform Donegal Migrants
Clare Local Development Company Clare Traveller
Inner City Organisations Network Dublin Women, poverty, housing
Kilkenny Community Traveller Movement Kilkenny Traveller Supports
Longford Community Resources Longford Roma
Cultur Migrant Centre Meath, Louth Emigrants
Independent Living Movement Ireland Wexford Disabled persons
  • Applications to take part in the pilot programme were received from over 120 community development organisations.
  • The aim of this pilot programme is to trial community led interventions that address poverty, social exclusion and inequality, and promote human rights. It is also a commitment under the Programme for Government.
  • The Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) will also play a key role in the pilot programme, in overseeing the administration at local level and importantly providing support and introducing organisations to other potential funders, helping to integrate the organisation with other bodies delivering similar services and facilitating networking.